Posts Tagged ‘software developer’
The iPad and its Potential With Online Poker
Although most online poker players use Windows PCs, there has been a growing swell of players using Apple Mac computers like MacBook Pros and iMacs. The Mac-centric poker niche is growing, with four major sites having native software clients: PokerStars, Full Tilt Poker, UB.com, and Absolute Poker. The popular hand history tracking utility PokerTracker 3 came out recently with a Mac OS X beta edition of its software. With the release of Apple’s tablet computer, the iPad, there has been plenty of speculation about the machine's future with online poker.
When thinking about the iPad and its potential for being used for online poker, we need to keep the following questions in mind:
- What are the hardware specs of the iPad?
- Is the interface going to be applicable to an online poker software program?
- Will the screen quality and resolution level make online poker practical?
- Does the iPad have enough bandwidth to have a lag-free online poker experience?
- Is the iPad OS something that a poker site can work with to create an App?
- Will the legal environment allow a poker site to release an App?
The iPad is a high-resolution 9.7-inch LED-backlit computer that weighs just 1.5 pounds. It’s touted as being perfect for web browsing, watching movies, and viewing photos. The unit works in either portrait or landscape mode, very similarly to an iPod Touch or iPhone. The multi-touch screen on the iPad is based on the current iPhone technology, but has been totally re-engineered for the larger surface to be more precise and responsive. The battery life is said to last up to 10 hours by using a special lithium-polymer technology. The iPad uses an A4 chip that was custom designed by Apple engineers to be extremely powerful, but at the same time very power efficient. Units will have an option for 16, 32, or 64 GB of internal flash storage.
All iPad units will have built-in WiFi with 802.11n, which is currently the fastest wireless protocol available. In addition, there will be 3G models with data speeds up to 7.2 MB per second on the AT&T network for coverage anywhere without a WiFi network, but with a 3G signal. Units are expected to start shipping at the end of March and the base version costs just $499.
The iPad interface is the multi-touch screen that has been made more precise and responsive to help counter the potential problems it would face with a much larger screen. The resolution of the iPad’s 9.7-inch screen is 1024x768, which is a bit inferior to what most experts predicted it would be.
With all the glitz and glamor of the iPad now out in the open, as poker players, we’re wondering about its capabilities for online poker. The unit, on the surface, seems like a great little online poker machine. The touch screen appears to be perfect for interfacing with a poker table. You could use the bet slider with the flick of a finger, fold or check by tapping the appropriate button, and even muck your cards by flicking them into the middle of the table. Interface-wise, there’s no question that the touch-screen of the unit will work splendidly.
The next question for whether or not the iPad would be feasible for an online poker player is how a table would look on the screen. There’s plenty of screen available for a single poker table to load up in the 1024x768 space. In fact, it’s probably feasible to have four tables load up at the same time. The graphics capabilities of the unit were rather impressive during Apple CEO Steve Jobs’ presentation with a few video games, so we know it can handle the minimal graphics required by many of the poker rooms.
Another question we have to answer is about the iPad bringing the necessary bandwidth to play one or even four tables at the same time. Since most poker rooms only require a dial-up connection, which is surpassed in spades by both WiFi and 3G connections, there’s absolutely no concern about the unit not having enough bandwidth to handle the rigors of playing online poker.
The iPad uses a new operating system that works very similar to the iPhone OS, with more capabilities to take advantage of the unit’s more robust power. Because the development kit is already available to software developers, there wouldn’t be much of a stumbling block to developing a solid iPad version of the software.
With the all of the questions answered fairly positively when asking the question whether or not the iPad will work with online poker, we’re down to our final one: Will the current legal environment allow it? Since Apple is based in California and controls the App Store, the worldwide distribution of Apps for the iPad will be based on U.S. laws. The legal environment in the United States is murky at best with online poker, with virtually no chance of Apple approving an App created by a major poker site for real money poker play. With that being the case, it would seem foolish to expect a poker site to invest money and resources toward a project that would only meet failure.
The potential future of the iPad and real money online poker is bright. The unit is perfect for those who want to sit on their couch, relax, and play a few hands of poker. Maybe you’re stuck at the airport or who knows where and you want to log on and play a few hands. The iPad certainly has the technological power to handle the task. The only stumbling block is left up to the legal environment. For now, we’ll probably just enjoy whatever random Texas Hold’em video games Apple approves in the iPad App Store to satisfy our poker craving.
PokerStars and Full Tilt Update Clients, Affect Third Party Software
The top two online poker sites in the world, PokerStars and Full Tilt Poker, have recently released software updates. In addition to performance updates, there are a few site upgrades that add to a player’s experience. These additions have a ripple effect in the poker software industry, as every time there’s an update for a site, third party software developers must update their programs in order for them to continue to work.
On September 19th, Full Tilt Poker released a patch that fixed numerous problems for its PC and Mac clients. The first major fixed involved a crashing issue for Mac users during the login process. For PC users, there was a major lag issue when logging in that has now been fixed. However, if players are using a proxy to connect to Full Tilt Poker, parts of the site will become inaccessible. These sections include the FTP Store, the deposit screen, and the withdrawal screen.
Other issues cleared up by the recent Full Tilt Poker patch, which downloads automatically when players start up the site, include bug fixes for face down cards. Some players have reported that they were dealt a card or two face down during a hand, while others had their software client become unresponsive while in a hand. Finally, another glitch that was fixed featured tables not popping up to the front if they required an action, causing many to time out unknowingly. A representative for Full Tilt Poker, FTPDoug, responded on the PocketFives.com forum saying, “We’ve made a couple of changes to the table coming to the front code.”
PokerStars has had a few minor updates since its major overhaul released in August. The new update shored up some lag issues of its own and also introduced partial FPPs and synchronized breaks. The new Mixed Hold’em/Omaha games continue to gain steam with players and extended registration times allow for larger tournament fields.
The updates, mainly on Full Tilt Poker, have sent some third party software developers scrambling to get up to speed. Player tracking website PlayerGPS.com continues to say that reporting for Full Tilt Poker is not working and also has yet to release its Titan Poker update. Representatives from PlayerGPS.com told Poker News Daily weeks ago that a Full Tilt update was coming, but that has failed to come to fruition.
Hand history tracking programs Hold’em Manager and PokerTracker 3 continue to roll out updates to their software. In the last two weeks, Hold’em Manager has released three beta updates to its 1.09 edition. Some of the updates include fixing importing issues for Full Tilt and PokerStars hyper-turbo payouts. PokerTracker 3 released build 5.2 in August, which ensures the proper scanning and importing of hands from all the sites that it supports.
Shortcut programs continue to work on PokerStars, specifically Table Ninja. Players who update to the most recent version of the program, 1.1.44.0, will see that there are important bug fixes and features implemented for PokerStars users. Both TableNinjaFT (version 1.0.7.0) and Poker Shortcuts (4.0032) are reportedly operational with Full Tilt Poker and offer up plenty of shortcuts for players to use. Other software, such as Hold’em Genius, released an update last week to version 1.5.40, which fixes an important issue and now works with all PokerStars tables.
Whenever a site issues a software update, it’s very important for players to download and install it. These updates provide critical fixes to glitches in the program for a better poker experience in addition to dealing with potential lag issues. Once a poker site has been updated, be on the lookout for updates to third party software programs that you use, which are usually just hours behind. Staying up-to-date ensures a productive and more stable poker playing experience.
iPhone 3G S Brings High-Powered Poker Applications
With the release of the new iPhone 3G S, poker players are more excited than ever about the robust hardware and internet features of this amazing device. There are many poker resources available with the iPhone, including podcasts, training videos, and other applications.
Accessing the iTunes Store will reveal a ton of programs that mainly focus on playing poker against the computer or other players in a play money format. For many, this is a fun way of satisfying their poker craving on the road or at home, as the application is available for those on the 3G network or connected to the internet via Wifi. Zynga’s Live Poker 40k is one of the most popular iPhone applications and, at $2.99, the price is easy to swallow. In terms of games like this that allow you to play live opponents or a friend in the same room, there are literally too many to mention.
For those of you who like to play at home, a fun application might be Poker Tournament Manager, which will turn your iPhone into a command center for your home game. It organizes buy-ins, blind levels, and even monitors performances from tournament to tournament. This handy application is only $4.99. You can also find a familiar-sounding application called Poker Tracker (not related to the online tracking tool) that allows you to enter in your progress in live games and save it to your phone.
Also, check out three applications from PokerCruncher: Hold’em Odds Quizzer ($1.99), PokerCruncher ($4.99), and Poker Odds Teacher ($0.99). The first application is a slick quiz program that helps test players judge equity ranges in a wide variety of Hold’em situations, both pre- and post-flop. PokerCruncher is basically PokerStove for the iPhone and the Poker Odds Teacher is a great refresher (or introductory) program for learning poker odds.
Podcasts have been all the rage the last few years in getting quality content out to users in a cheap and easy method. Simply record your podcast (either video or audio), submit it free to iTunes, and people will be able to hear your message. Full Tilt Poker offers podcasts that center on tips from the pros. ESPN might have the best podcast around with Phil Gordon and acclaimed columnist Andrew Feldman. The show constantly has A-list guests for insightful and interesting discussion. Sites like PocketFives.com also offer up podcasts related to online poker every week. Since podcasts are almost universally free, they are highly accessible for users.
Many poker training sites including Stox Poker and Deuces Cracked now offer iPhone editions of their popular training videos. Instead of watching the best training money can buy while at your computer, you can load up the video onto your iPhone and watch it on your lunch break at work.
Given that podcasts, training videos, and applications are available, the technology suggests that the iPhone is ready for poker rooms. Any site is free to develop an iPhone application. Cake Poker already has a platform available for the Windows Mobile operating system that lets players play for real money. Since the iPhone 3G (now $99) and the new iPhone 3G S ($199 and $299) both access the speedy 3G internet network for low-end DSL speeds, there’s no doubt that the hardware and internet capabilities can handle an application to allow people to play poker.
The holdup, as evidenced by feedback from Cake Poker software developers on their feedback forums, are the restrictions that Apple places on applications submitted to their store. At this point in time, poker rooms believe that Apple would not approve such an application and, therefore, it isn’t worth the time and resources to build. Once the legal climate is cleared up in the United States, there’s little doubt that all of the major poker rooms would immediately begin production on free iPhone applications to let players battle for real money. In the meantime, we have plenty of wonderful goodies in the iTunes App Store along with videos and podcasts to satisfy our poker bug.
Statistical Analysis: Poker is a Game of Skill
Close, but no cigar - Liebert second, Steve Brecher wins the WPT Bay 101 Shooting Star
Kathy Liebert made her sixth WPT final table appearance, but once again she had to walk away without the top prize and the WPT champion title. Though, the second place finish earned her a nice prize worth of $550,000.
The heads-up play started with Brecher having over to 2-to-1 chiplead with 5,540,000 chips against 2,280,000. Liebert couldn’t get any closer as Brecher slowly pulled away. The final table lasted total of 319 hands which is the new WPT record.
In the last hand Liebert raised to 175,000, Brecher moved all in, and Liebert called with Q-T of spades. Brecher was ahead with his A-9, but the flop, 6-6-2 with two spades, gave Liebert few more outs. None of her outs fell, as the turn was another two and the river four of clubs.
Full Tilt pro Steve Brecher (pictured), a retired computer software developer, more than doubled his live tournament earnings with the win and a $1,025,500 paycheck. His total live tournament earnings were $707,501 before the tournament, his biggest cash being a 6th place finish in 2004 WPT World Championship for $232,862.
Source: WPT
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Close, but no cigar - Liebert second, Steve Brecher wins the WPT Bay 101 Shooting Star